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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. rock — a stone
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. last — finally
  11. rock — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. board — a committee
  15. last — final
  16. current — happening now
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com